Best free apps for kids, reviews of iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch (iTouch), and Android apps. Educational and fun applications and games for kids, teens, babies, preschool, kindergarten, elementary school, middle-school, and high-school kids. How to tips for parents.

10/17/2011

Montessori is a term that most people have heard, but are unsure of exactly what it means. However, parents choosing to school their children under the principles of the Montessori method are advocates of the child-centered learning methods. Developed by an Italian educator, Montessori aims to develop a child’s natural interests rather than utilize formal teaching methods. For parents that are already fans, or those that want to check it out, this week we review some of the best Montessori apps.

10/07/2011

The new iPhone will be in stores on Oct 14th! Many of my friends have been waiting for it to come out so that they can upgrade or purchase an iPhone for the first time. If you are upgrading to iPhone4S from iPhone3GS, or an earlier model, the switch is is a no brainer; go ahead and do it. The new features are well worth it! However if you already own iPhone4, the decision to upgrade to iPhone 4S or not is not as clear cut. Below we list the pros and cons.

Rewarding children with apps is a common practice today and writer Richard Asa from Chicago Tribune, is working on an article to surface the pros and cons of app rewards, as well as best practices. Before we come up with a list of the dangers and benefits of rewarding your kids with apps, we wanted to ask to you, our readers. Do you occasionally reward your kids with apps? Do you have any rules or tips that you can offer to other parents? Conversely, what are the downsides of this practice?

Please leave your comments here and feel free to e-mail your thoughts and stories to contact@ikidapps.com and we can connect you with Richard.

10/05/2011

We knew this was coming but we were still hoping for a miracle. A total genius, he gave us the first user-friendly computer, the first computer-generated feature film, and the first truly usable digital music player, smartphone, and tablet. Now we'll always wonder how the world would have been if he lived for another 40 years. Still, we are grateful for having him on this earth as long as we did and having lived in the Steve Jobs era.

10/03/2011

Since having my first little one, it has become completely clear to me that babies are fascinated by anything that glows. And that means an iPhone screen. Noticing an affinity for focusing on my phone has sent me on a hunt for the best free apps for babies.

While it is imperative to play with your children and hone their development the old fashioned way; with toys, hand movements and song, using free baby apps as an additional layer of interaction with your children is a creative way to spend more quality time together.

09/29/2011

After much anticipation Amazon announced Kindle Fire, a 7’’ tablet that runs Amazon’s version of Android and costs only $199. This incredible price point, combined with its seamless integration with Amazon movie streaming and the Android app store makes it probably the most credible competitor to iPad so far. What will Kindle Fire mean for families, kids and education? Could Kindle Fire eventually be the ultimate kids educational and gaming platform?

09/26/2011

Apple is working to underscore the learning power of the iPad2 with their latest ad. While many, especially parents, wonder if the iPad is just another pricey tech toy, Apple's latest ad highlights the capabilities of iPad as a learning device.

09/23/2011

Having an iPhone camera is handy. It’s great to snap shots of the kids while they’re playing in the sprinklers, or capture a cute moment between siblings. But who hasn’t been on a vacation when their iPhone camera just wasn’t…enough. You know what I mean, you’re standing in a National Park, taking in the scenery with the family and all of a sudden there’s an elk, but it’s just too far away for your iPhone camera to catch.

09/19/2011

Learning and flashcards go together like peanut butter and jelly. Cheese and crackers. Bert and Ernie. These basic aids for memorization can help older children practice for tricky exams, or help lay the foundation for toddlers to master the ABC’s.

However, since the advent of the iPhone kids and parents don’t have to settle for just the paper versions anymore. Virtual flashcards provided via apps provide an opportunity for integrating technology into flashcard use and, not to mention, bring a whole new level of portability to memorization learning techniques.

09/16/2011

When Angry Birds is played out and your kids don’t want to practice their ABC’s anymore, movies and TV shows turn the iPhone into a miniature, portable television. Downloaded shows can provide hours of entertainment on long car rides, plane trips or during ridiculous long wait times at the doctor’s office. However, the cost of downloading shows and movies can be high via iTunes. Fortunately, with a little pre-planning there are ways to download your favorite shows to your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad for free!

09/12/2011

Photo apps turn your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad into a magical camera equipped with awesome Photoshop-like effects. However, these apps transform photos into artistic creations without requiring time or skill to edit photos with photography software. And they do it for cheap! Whether you want to make your snapshots reminiscent of famous works of art, or simply apply aging effects, you’ll be amazed at how these apps will fab up your photos in no time.

09/09/2011

After browsing the developer-submitted blog entries here on ikidapps.com for the best new kids apps, we're excited to once again present our readers with a preview of some of our favorites.

The top new kids apps cover everything from geography to saving yetis from giant snowballs. Each feature family-friendly content and are, we feel, a great addition to the iPhone app market. Take a second to check them out, and then head over to the new app section to browse even more new "app-ortunities" for fun and learning with the iPhone.

09/05/2011

Have you ever had something roll across the screen of your iPhone that you just had to save, but didn’t know how? Perhaps a text from your teenager was too sweet not to capture, or you wanted to store a quick description of a birthday gift idea for your little rascal.

Just like taking a screenshot on a computer, the iPhone is capable of taking screen capture shots that are stored in the device like a photo for easy sharing and storage.

09/02/2011

We cannot believe it has been 3 years since we launched iKidApps.com! In many of our articles we try to review the best iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Android apps for you in their respective categories. Also we have the largest collection of kids app videos, do check them out. Below you can find all of our (350 in total!) best app reviews as well as a list of how to tips for parents.

08/29/2011

We never pass up the opportunity to talk about new, cool products for the iPhone, and this one definitely caught our eye. How many times did you max out the volume on your iPhone or iTouch and still you cannot hear the movie or the song, especially in noisy environments? It looks like Born Horn Stand can amplify the iPhone audio volume without consuming any battery.